Eight Years Later
by skylark336
Summary: Grace Wayne is Bruce Wayne's younger sister who was a senior in high school at the time of the events of Dark Knight. Now as the title may elude it's eight years later and everything is different. What happens when a new criminal comes to Gotham and Grace meets a guy who makes her smile again? Chapters 1&2 written before I saw DKR so chptrs following will turn into a DKR fanfic
1. Chapter 1

It had been eight years- eight years since Batman, since Rachel and Harvey, since the Joker. And as much as Grace Wayne liked to lie to herself, she really wasn't quite the same. Her brother had always had a grim side, one instilled in him from the time he saw his parents killed. But now, Grace had also come to terms with the fact that there was always a breaking point, a point at which good reached evil. She had always believed that deep-down every person was good but what if she was wrong? After watching Harvey Dent- a hero to her from the moment she had seen him on the news and was introduced to him by her longtime friend Rachel- mentally corrupted to the point of no recognition, she wondered if some people were just all bad. Harvey, she liked to believe, was truly a good man that had just been corrupted, but if Harvey Dent, the incorruptible, had been corrupted then who couldn't?

Her brother (as Batman) took the fall for Harvey's actions. And Batman was gone. Witnessing the incident, she was sworn to secrecy by Gordon. It made sense to Grace. Why put all the people in Gotham in the confusion and doubt she was now in? Grace, a senior in the high school who had planned to go to one of the top school in the country to become a lawyer (a district attorney like her own heroes Rachel and Harvey) was turned off and changed her dreams. She decided to become a doctor. In this time she also sold all of her stocks in Wayne Enterprises to Bruce, who although put on a good act as a self-absorbed playboy was actually quite thoughtful and would do the best for the company. Bruce gave Grace money whenever she asked for it which was only when she desperately needed it. She lived in a below-average (shithole as Bruce called it) apartment and was now in her seventh year of an eight year joint program at Gotham University's Medical School.

Right now, she was sitting in a crowded park-turned-auditorium for Harvey Dent's eight-year memorial. Why they chose the number eight to have a memorial was a mystery to Grace. The last one they'd had was a year after and Grace sat quietly never shedding one of the many tears that threatened to escape. This time was no different. Grace sat quietly with her hands in her lap and Bruce came and sat beside her. "Hey kiddo," he said giving her a small kiss on the cheek as he sat into a chair. "How are you doin'? These things always kinda suck."

"Tell me about it. I don't see how sitting in a crowded park crying will do any good." She replied.

"Well it is a nice tribute. I think that Rachel and Harvey would like it." He whispered.

"Agreed." Grace said easily.

The memorial began with Commissioner Gordon speaking on Harvey's behalf and continued with the mayor and many other important, but still nameless to Grace, people speaking.

When it was over Bruce bolted, as usual; but Grace stayed to talk to Commissioner Gordon.

"Commissioner." Grace called out to catch his attention. He waved her over and the two greeted each other with a hug.

"Grace," he said as let go, "how are you?"

"I'm fine. That was a beautiful service."

"Definitely. How about that brother of yours? Are you keeping him under control?"

Grace laughed, "I try my very hardest. Hows your family?"

"Great, the kids are finally stopping asking the next time you're coming to babysit."

"Well, that's good. I just wanted to check in; tell them all I say hi." The two waved and left. Grace turned to leave and stumbled into a table of photos of Harvey Dent. She picked up one of the first ones she saw, and it ended up being one of herself and Harvey. It was the meeting Rachel had set up for her so she could write a paper on him for her college applications about the one quality she valued most: justice. He was standing with Grace and they were both smiling. And they weren't just fake smiles you had to think about when you're taking a picture they were genuine- just like the one she always had when she was with Harvey. With how much time she spent with both Rachel and Harvey, Bruce made accusations that Grace wanted Harvey to be her brother- accusations which were obviously false because Grace (never admitting this to Bruce) admired no one more than the older brother he adored.

Filled with feelings of grief and remorse, Grace bolted she put her head down and walked as fast as she could to her car. In hindsight, she was surprised she only ran into one man- a Gotham city cop named John Blake.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm sorry." Grace Wayne said quickly wiping her eyes as discreetly as she could.

"It's really fine." He said.

Grace looked up. John had dark, kind eyes and dark hair. "Yeah, I'm fine." She then looked down and saw that she'd spilled his water bottle all over his Gotham PD jacket. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I really should learn to look where I'm going. Gosh, I'm let me help you with that." She tried wiping at the spilled water on his coat.

John gently pushed Grace's hands away. "It's fine." Looking at the girl, John Blake had no idea what she was doing at a memorial service for Harvey Dent- nonetheless leaving in tears. Harvey had no family that John knew of and most of Dent's friends and work colleagues had to have been her age when Harvey died eight years ago. But John figured that if any guys-especially those at the police station- knew this girl was going to be here at the memorial service, they would've fought John for the opportunity to come. She was gorgeous- dark hair with green eyes and a thin build. "I'm Officer John the food in there really that bad that you had to run out of there like that?"

Grace smiled for the first time in the entire encounter. "Yeah, stay away from all of the appetizers; they're nasty."

John smiled back a smile so sweet Grace almost forgot she practically just shoulder-checked this guy on the way to her car. "Thanks for the advice. Sorry, I don't think I caught your name?"

"Grace Wayne." She said so quickly she almost forgot that she didn't usually share her last name. It may sound weird but usually it just never came up anyways; if she just said her name was Grace-no more, no less- the conversation went on with little disturbance. When her last name was shared there was usually more of a conversation to follow: Wayne, as in Bruce Wayne? So you're like the Paris Hilton of Gotham? Are you the girl who was babysitting for the Commissioner Gordon' family the knight Batman killed Harvey Dent and those other people? What is it like to be one of the only witnesses to one of the biggest events in Gotham's history?

John didn't fail to disappoint. "Wayne, like Wayne Enterprises?"

"That would be us." Grace replied waiting for the next question. When Harvey died it was, as you may guess, a pretty huge deal. Between the extent of the impact Harvey's death had on Gotham and the fact that Grace's last name was already commonplace around Gotham from their involvement in the business in the world and Bruce's involvement in Gotham's night/social life, her presence at the scene of the crime was made public knowledge.

"That's cool" John replied. John obviously knew exactly who Grace was now, and he also knew why she was at the memorial for Harvey Dent. It was all over the news; Grace Wayne had known Dent because she grew up with his fiancée Rachel and, coincidentally, she had been present at the scene of Dent's death because she was babysitting Commissioner Gordon's kids who somehow ended up at the scene (the reason for this was never publically disclosed in an effort to protect all parties involved and possibly the checkbook of the police department for revealing too much information on an heiress to possibly the largest fortune in Gotham). But instead of feeding his on interest, John held back to save this girl from answering anymore of the same questions she'd probably gotten repeatedly over the past eight years.

Grace was shocked- and impressed. "Yeah, I guess. It's definitely quite the icebreaker."

John laughed. "I'm guessing it has to be. How often do you get asked about your name and then your family?"  
"Usually every time someone hears what my last name is. It's fabulous." Grace smiled and then realized she actually had to go somewhere- work. She was able to convince the head nurse on her floor to reschedule her shift to be an afternoon one, so Grace really couldn't come any later if she wanted to keep her job. "I'm really sorry, Officer Blake, but I have to get going. I can't be late to work."

"Oh, I understand. It's really nice to meet you." She agreed but before she could leave, John stopped her. "Listen, Grace, do you want to have dinner or something tonight? You know, now that your name has broken the ice."

"I'd love that John." Grace said and then the two made plans to go to dinner that night after Grace and John got off of work.


	3. Chapter 3

Congrats you've made it to chapter 3! Thank you for your continued reading and feedback-I love it all!

Newly edited- I was so fucused on getting the tory back to the movie I made a huge mistake. Thank you so much for pointing that out. As I said in the first chapter, Grace is currently studying to be a doctor. She is not a nurse. Again, I'm so sorry. I hope you all continue reading and try to forget that stupid mistake on my part. Thank you!

Sorry this chapter took a while. I am trying to get this to go more with the Dark Knight Rises plot since I just saw it (The movie is amazing BTW.)

**SPOILER ALERT: Things in this chapter are from Dark Knight Rises. I do not want to ruin any of the surprises the movie has for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. **

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**A Few Days Later (After Bruce Goes to See Gordon in the Hospital)**

"Oh my God." Was all Grace could say. "Someone knows your Batman?"

"Technically, I was Batman; that cape was hung up eight years ago."

"Regardless," Grace pushed her hair back out of frustration. "Who was this guy?"

"One of Gotham's many cops. He just kind of put it together. When Gordon was shot, he came here to tell me that Gotham needs Batman again, and after speaking with Gordon, I couldn't agree more."

"Are you crazy? You think that you can be Batman again?" Grace was shocked. Her brother, in plain terms, looked like hell. He'd visibly lost weight, and the injuries sustained as Batman were showing themselves in terms of his health. How could he be Gotham's protector as he once was?

"Well, thanks sis. I can always count on you for encouragement." He continued typing on the computer in his Bat Cave(Grace sometimes laughed at herself for uttering those words).

"Bruce, I'm not trying to crush your dreams, but it's been eight years. I just want to make sure you're okay." Grace sat on the edge of the desk and rested her hand on Bruce's shoulder. She loved her brother more than anything in this world. He was the only family she had and couldn't imagine life without him. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing will." He stood up and kissed her forehead. "Gotham needs Batman. This guy, Bane, he means business. I'm not sure what he wants, but he'll put up a fight for it. Don't tell me you're going to turn on me too about this one." Alfred had already quit knowing he couldn't stand watching Bruce not moving on which was what he so desperately needed.

"I'll never turn on you, big guy." Grace exhaled deeply. "I guess I'm on call again as Batman's personal nurse."

"I couldn't dream of doing it without you." Bruce looked at the young woman his baby sister had become and felt proud knowing he played a part in her upbringing. "Now, I have to go talk to Lucius. I want to see if there's any more gear."

"Have fun. I'll be watching the news for you. Be careful." Grace said as she left.

"I always am."

As Grace walked out, her phone rang. It was the cop she'd met at Harvey's memorial John. "Hey there." She said in as calm a voice to hide her extreme excitement he'd called so soon after their second date.

"Hey," he replied. John Blake was in a tough spot. He had no idea if Grace knew that her brother was Batman and even though they'd only known each other for a little while he felt an immediate connection to her. She had a unique, dry sense of humor that was really similar to his and felt weird not mentioning he fact he'd gone to see her brother earlier that day revealing the fact he knew that Bruce was Batman. "I was just calling to see if you wanted to do dinner tomorrow night."

"Let me think about this for a second, I have some classes in the morning tomorrow so I was just planning on running some errands in the afternoon but after that I'm all good. I'd love to Officer Blake. What time and where were you thinking?" Grace smiled. Something about this guy just made her feel at ease. He was cute, funny, and he laughed at all of her attempts to be funny.

"Well, future Doctor Wayne, I was thinking seven-ish at Catch 35. Or are you allergic to seafood?"

"I am not allergic to seafood, but thank you for asking first. Sounds great."

"Alright, I can pick you up or do you just want to meet there?"

"Oh gosh, I don't mind either way; whatever is easiest for you. I live on Adams and First. Is that on your way?"

"Yeah, that's definitely on my way. So, I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Sounds great, I'll see you then."

"Can't wait, bye Grace."

"Bye John." And with that the two ended the call.

**Next Morning- Grace's Apartment 6;30 AM. **

The alarm clock rang in a way that made Grace question why she'd ever purchased an alarm clock that was so annoying. Today, Grace was very anxious. As if knowing her brother was running around Gotham once again toting a black mask and cape fighting the city's criminals as only a vigilante could weren't bad enough, now John was picking Grace up at her apartment. The apartment Grace had bought only so she could pay rent on a the small salary she earned on waitressing and other mall jobs she got without any of her brother's help, and it showed. It was in a decent building but it was small. Grace had done her best to decorate it to the T, but it was less than perfect.

Grace shrugged off her worries (or at least pushed them all to the pit of her stomach and prayed they wouldn't come back up ), and after showering, getting ready, and eating her breakfast, Grace went to work knowing all she could do was hope for the best.

The day went on without a hitch until about one o'clock when Grace was notified of a hostage situation occurring at the stock exchange. _Goddamn it_, she thought, _why couldn't today go on without any problems so Batman didn't even need to come. _But sure enough, this was happening. Apparently, the new criminal that Bruce had mentioned earlier, some ex-mercenary (or current mercenary, Grace wasn't quite sure) named Bane, had broken into the building and was now holding everyone inside hostage. So far, there was hardly any information coming out and this made Grade even more uneasy. Where was Bruce? It was blatantly obvious to her that Batman would make his first appearance at this. The cops didn't seem to be able to do much, and if Bane and his men escaped, only Bruce had the means to catch them.

So Grace went on waiting. The classroom went on as usual but everyone else was worried too. The same thought had crossed everyone else's mind had also gone through Grace's: is this guy another Joker? Finally, a change occurred. About a half hour after the first mention of the hostage situation, Bane left the building. The news was reporting on the incident with a helicopter showing live footage of the scene when some kind of black plane flew out from over the stock exchange.

_Oh boy Bruce, _Grace thought to herself, _you've always made quite the entrance. _Grace grabbed her coffee and took a big swig. She put her phone down and tried to pay attention to the end of the professor's lecture, but she ultimately knew she couldn't. Batman was back, and she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach this go as Batman may be worse than the last.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alrighty, here it is Chapter 4! I know there's not much interaction between John and Grace yet, but I wanted to end this chapter here and the next chapters to come will especially focus on these too. The timing in this chapter is a little strange while Grace is with Bruce so don't be surprised if it goes by fast. I am also not very well-versed in stoc lingo so if I use incorrect terms in the chapter bear with me.**

**Also, I was thinking of doing a prequel to this story taking place during the Dark Knight just to clear up some of the background of Grace and Bruce. That wouldn't be until I'm further along in this story but any thoughts?**

**I love all of you that are continuing to read the story, favoriting/following, and having some patience with me as this is my first big story to post up here!**

**Disclaimer:I don't own the Dark Knight Trilogy or any of the characters that come along with it. **

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The day dragged on for Grace with her last class ending at 3. Once her classes were over, she rushed to Bruce's house. She listened to the radio the whole way there. Seeing that traffic was absolutely terrible and the drive was long, she heard a lot. Apparently, Bruce followed Bane's men with the Gotham PD on his tail the whole time. The police then diverted some of the attention they were giving to Bane and his men to Batman. But Grace really didn't blame them for that. Those cops believed that Batman was a murdering thug in a black mask. To make the situation worse, they thought he'd killed Harvey Dent, Gotham's savior. The cops fired at Batman and Bane's men when Batman had Bane's men stopped in an overpass. This allowed Bane and his men to go free, and Batman-as usual- was nowhere to be found.

By the time Grace got there, Bruce had already gotten home. She hurried into the study, played the piano to open the bookcase, stepped in to the elevator, and road it down to the Bat cave. Bruce changed in to a gray t-shirt and jeans and was buy looking at his laptop but looked back when Grace came in. "You better not have blown any stop lights on the way here. You got here a lot faster than I expected."

"No, I didn't run any red lights." She quickly surveyed Bruce for any injuries. The bat suit usually did a pretty good job of protecting injuries but there was one scrape on his chin. "How did this happen?" She asked motioning to the scratch.

"Calm down. It's a scratch. I don't even remember getting it." Bruce said with ease as he typed at the computer.

"Fine just let me clean it out so it doesn't get infected." Grace started cleaning the cut. "What are you working on anyways?"

"I'm trying to figure out what Bane wanted when he broke into the stock exchange. Maybe you'll have better luck figuring it out. You've always been more tech-y." Bruce gestured to the laptop.

"Sure. I'll give it a try. Don't get your hopes up too high though. I haven't done much computer work in eight years-at least not of this kind." Grace had always been good with computers and helped Bruce with minor computer stuff (little hacking jobs, breaking into flashdrives- no biggie) when Lucius couldn't or Bruce needed help fast. "And if tech-y is your way of politely calling me a nerd, I don't appreciate it." Grace typed and typed but could find no information. "No luck Bruce."

"Try again. I'm going to get Lucius on the phone see if you he could stop by or if I could take it to him." Bruce got up to give Grace his chair, and started talking on the phone with Lucius.

Grace typed for at least another couple of hours and finally got to the records of what transfers were made today. "Bruce, I think I got it." The words and information on the charts were meaningless to Grace who had never had any interest in business, but a few things were clear to her: they were her brother's accounts that changes were made to and the changes weren't good for her brother.

Bruce walked over to me. "Send that file to Lucius" Bruce said.

"Alright it's on its way." Grace said once she sent it to him.

The two waited for some time as Lucius deciphered the chart. He called when he knew the stocks exchanged, and the impact of those exchanges. As Lucius relayed the information to Bruce, one look at Bruce and Grace knew something was wrong.

"Yeah, I will thanks." Bruce hung up and looked at Grace. "You were right. Those were my stocks and it's definitely not good. Grace, I'm broke. This guy made trades that totally screwed me. I'm dead. The board at Wayne Enterprises is going to eat me alive. I have to make sure Miranda can take care of the energy project so it doesn't land in the wrong hands in case I'm voted off the board."

Grace was speechless. "Go. I'll try to find a way to get that money back. Maybe you can call a lawyer and get the transactions fixed."

"Alright, call me if you find anything." And with that Bruce left.

Grace used every search engine and legal journal she could think of but found no cases even similar to Bruce's. She found solace knowing that Bruce was protecting the nuclear energy source seeing as if it got into the wrong hands and got turned into a bomb it would be really bad news for everyone in Gotham. Grace couldn't imagine the chaos that would ensue if the energy source was turned into a bomb. There's no telling what would happen. Whoever had control of the bomb would have control of the city. The police would stand no chance. Police. _Shit, _Grace thought_, my date with John. _She checked the clock. It was seven now; how she spend hours here without realizing was a mystery to Grace. Just then her phone rang. It was John. _Oh crap, oh crap, _Grace cursed at herself, _I finally find a guy who's nice and decent and I can't even keep track of the flipping time. _She answered the phone breathing in. "John," she started, but was interrupted by John on the other end of the line.

"I'm so sorry Grace. I don't know if you saw on the news or not but there was a big stand-off at the stock exchange today so I had to stay at work late to, you know, work. That's why I haven't picked you up yet. So, yeah, I'm sorry."

Grace was relieved that John had lost track of time, too; it would've been hard enough explaining what was so important that she was doing at her brother's house. "It's so, totally, and completely fine. Duty calls- I understand. Are you still working now?"

"Yeah, I am but not for much longer. Dinner may be out, though, by the time I clean up. I'm sorry if I ruined your plans." John didn't know Grace very well, but what he did know he liked. He didn't see her as the heiress to one of Gotham's largest fortunes; he saw her as a beautiful (what he'd usually consider as out of his league) and funny girl who for some reason seemed to like him. He really hoped she wasn't upset about cancelling plans.

"Okay," Grace was actually happy dinner was out of the question. She was still wearing her clothes from the day and wouldn't be ready to go out to dinner for some time, but she still wanted to see John. "Well we could just hang out, if you want. You could just stop by whenever you're off of work, I have a pretty decent selection of movies at my apartment, and we could order a pizza or something."

"Yeah, that'd be great. I guess I'll just call you when I'm on my way then."

"Okay. See you soon." Grace grabbed her keys and walked to the elevator.

"Bye." John said smirking; maybe tonight wouldn't be as big of a bomb as he first thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**OK, here it is- Chapter 5! Per some of the reviewers' advice (to which I totally agreed) I decided to add some more of John and Grace's relationship. But I must warn you that I do not write romantic scenes very ofter so bear with me because I have been known to make things awkward. Also, the beginning of the chapter is kind of slow, but keep going I think it gets much better as it progresses:) Thank for the continued support once again!**

**P.S. Sorry if the endings kind of cliche but I just wanted to give you all a little supense;)**

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John had to check the address Grace had given him twice to make sure he was at the right place. He found it shocking that he, a Gotham detective, could afford an apartment in a nicer building than the Bruce Wayne's little sister. Maybe Wayne Enterprises was struggling more than the newspapers let on. It was eight- only an hour after their original date had been planned. Now, he was here and he knocked at the door of the apartment.

"Hey," Grace answered the door. She looked comfortable and relaxed in a black cardigan sweater over a white tank top and jeans with her long hair down in natural waves on her shoulders. "Come on in."

The apartment was small but decorated and furnished liked a picture from a magazine. "I'm happy we could still get together even if it wasn't the original plan." Grace said as John took his coat off to give to her. He was shy. Grace could tell this much from their first two dates. He was funny and sweet but was definitely not the loud, self-absorbed, and obnoxious guy that Grace usually dated, and this she really liked that about him.

"Me too," he replied.

"So, do you want to start a movie now? I already ordered a pizza. You said that you liked cheese right?"

"Yeah, cheese is great. And sure we can start the movie now."

"Okay, then, now that that's decided we have to pick a movie." She walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a few disc wallets but left many more in the cabinet."Alright, I'm pretty old school so I still have all of my DVDs unless you want to watch any of the Disney movies, those are on VHS tapes at Bruce's house." Grace placed the disc wallets on the table and continued talking. "I've always been a little more into movies than Bruce so when I moved out I took most of the DVD's I owned-which were basically all of the movies in the house- with me." John smiled watching Grace stack the disc wallets on the coffee table. "So, what are you in the mood for? We've got some comedies, dramas, chick-flicks, action, and a very limited assortment of horror movies."

"What not a horror film fan?" John asked chuckling.

"Why do I need any suspense when I live in the only city known to man to be terrorized by both a scarecrow and a clown in the span of only a few years? " Grace smirked.

"Touché." John replied smiling. He leafed through the sleeves of discs. The movies ranged from Will Ferrell comedies to the Godfather trilogy to sappy romantic comedies. "I'm up for anything. What are you in the mood for?"

"Hm." Grace sighed scrunching her nose up as she thought. "I'm really terrible at making decisions so you may regret giving me this big of a choice."

Grace picked a good drama that she thought John would like and put it in the DVD player. The small living room in Grace had only a few seats to choose from. There was a love seat directly in front of the TV and an arm chair next to the bookcase/cabinet to the side of the TV. John sat on the love seat, and when Grace was finished putting the DVD in the player, she sat next to him on the love seat.

The movie started with a usual introduction; there were scenes of people getting up and getting ready for the day with a simple, soft song playing in the background, but John's heart was beating fast. Grace and he had had a total of two dates that were really great filled with good conversations but were, you know, uneventful as far as the physical stuff came. Given the two dates were getting coffee and getting dinner in public places, making a move seemed inappropriate and awkward in general to John. Now, he was sitting in an empty apartment with Grace right there, and he was sure now was as good a time as any. _Grow a pair, _John said to himself, _she invited you here. She can obviously stand you. Make a move now or she's going to think you're not interested. _

_Do I have bad breath or something, _Grace wondered. _The movie's good, _she thought, _but seriously, it's not __**that **__good. If he doesn't make a move soon, I may have to._

_B_efore Grace had to, John quickly and smoothly slid his arm around her shoulders. Grace relaxed at his touch resting her head in towards his. As John felt Grace relaxing he did the same. The muscles in his arm lost the tension that they once had, and he tilted his head to just barely touch Grace's which was now resting on his shoulder.

The two sat like this for a few moments until John took a leap of faith. He took the hand that was resting and placed it on Grace's waist. John moved his face in close to Grace's. Grace's face was so close to John's that she could feel his breath blowing lightly on her face. She wasn't surprised when his lips came in touched her own with a kiss. It was a soft peck at first but became more passionate. Grace placed her hand on John's cheek as John pulled her waist closer. Just then, the doorbell rang. "Sersiously?" Grace said as her and John pulled away. "Figures the pizza comes now."

John chuckled as he moved towards the door. "Let me get this one."

"No, this is my house; I pay for dinner."

"Not if I get there first." John pushed past Grace and ran to the door.

Grace stood up and jumped onto John's back. "That was totally cheating." She whispered in his ear as she jumped off and playfully pushed John back away from the couch.

"And that wasn't?" he yelled sarcastically.

Grace stuck out her tongue and shook her butt mockingly at John. "Sorry, bud. I ran track in high school. And anyways, you paid for everything for me the past few dates. I got this one."

"Fine, you win. And are you sure you didn't play football in high school? That was one hell of a tackle." John joked.

Grace laughed and grabbed her wallet from her purse by the door before opening the door. "How much was it again?" Grace asked. Looking up to who she thought was the pizza man but was actually her brother Bruce.

"I get that you like spending time with me, but you really don't have pay me. I'm not that desperate- at least not yet." Bruce smiled.

Grace breathed in deeply. "Bruce, uh, hey." She smiled uncomfortably.

Bruce looked past Grace and saw the reason for her discomfort- there was a boy here. He didn't get a very good look at the kid, but he figured he'd find out after he totally embarrassed his little sister-just for old time's sake. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Bruce pushed past his sister into the small apartment. "I'm Bruce, Grace's-" he stopped. he finally got a look at the guy in his sister's apartment and knew exactly who it was. It was John Blake, the cop from the other day, the one who knew he was Batman.

John had no idea how to react. If he said he knew Bruce because he knew he was Batman, Grace would then have to know that her brother was Batman, and he had no clue if she already did or not. But not saying anything at this point would be lying omission.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Bruce said casually; his biggest weakness had and always would be lying to Grace.

Grace knew something was up. Why the hell were these two acting so strange? Even Bruce wasn't taking this remarkably good opportunity to make his sister as uncomfortable as possible which was one of his favorite past time. But then, it clicked. "Oh my God." Grace said. She couldn't believe she hadn't put this together earlier. John was the cop that knew Bruce was Batman. The pieces all fit: John was a cop; John' parents had both died; the mystery cop that went to see Bruce said he'd originally related to Bruce because his parents had died too; and Bruce was being quiet about this, and Bruce was never quiet when he was around Grace and boys. "How the hell do you two know each other?" Grace looked at Bruce. She could always tell when he was lying or holding something back.

"He," Bruce started but looked up and motioned for Grace to close the door, "is the cop from the other day that I told you about. He's the cop that knows the truth about Batman."

Grace looked to John who nodded in agreement.

Just then, the doorbell rang. "That must really be the pizza." John said as he walked to the door.

"Yeah," Bruce said. "I'll leave you two alone. I just wanted to let you know I talked to Miranda and he has things under control."

"Alright, bye Bruce. Talk to you later." Grace said walking her brother to the door. She then paid for the pizza and put it down on the table.

"So," John said in an attempt to test the waters.

"So," Grace looked up at John and saw that his forehead was furrowed with worry and his dark eyes with widened with curiosity. "I'm not mad at you or anything." She said in an attempt to soothe his anxiety. " We've only been on three dates; it's not like I expect you to drop a bomb on me like 'Hey your brother's Batman.' Plus, it's kind of old news to me." Grace smiled sheepishly.

"Good, I'm happy you're not mad because using that tackle earlier as a measure, I'm guessing you could kick my ass." John smiled back and rested his hand on Grace's shoulder.

"Well, I may not wear a mask or cape, but I am still pretty tough." There was a pause. "Thank you."

"For what?" John asked puzzled.

"For keeping this a secret, a lesser man may have told the world just to get his fifteen minutes of fame, but you didn't." Grace knew the downfalls of being the vigilante protector of Gotham; she witnessed it all first-hand. If the truth about Bruce fell into the wrong hands, no one could be sure what would happen, and who would use it againt him.

"It's really no big deal." John said smiling with uncertainty at first and then moving in closer. "Plus, I did have my own motives to keep this a secret."

"And what were they?" Grace asked her eyes glued on John's.

"You see I kind of have a thing for Batman's sister, and I wasn't about to let something out that may put her in harm's way." John smiled playfully.

"Oh, really? Well, I'll have to let her know." Grace bit her lip in a flirty but nervous way. "She says thank you."

As Grace finished talking, John leaned in for a kiss. John's hands found their way to Grace's waist pulling her closer, and Grace's arms wrapped around John's neck. The two stayed like this for a little longer. When they separated, Grace asked John if they could just make sure that they took this slow; she didn't want to risk what they had, and John agreed. Little did they know, that there would be a lot more at risk than either of them could even guess.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the wait everyone! I was on vacation and away from the computer for a week so I couldn't update:( I hope you all enjoy this chapter and are enjoying the story up to this point. The timing again in this chapter may seem off again (especially to those of you who have had the pleasure of seeing Dark Knight Rises) because I'm trying to get us into the plot of the movie:) I'm really excited to write the chapters to come so please bear with the timing issues!**

**Thank you again for the continued support! Please keep reading and and following and all the rest! Means the world to me!**

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The sun shined through the windows in Grace's apartment. Grace opened her eyes slowly in a state of confusion. Had she actually slept through the night with no image of the Joker or Harvey with half of his face burned? It wasn't every night one of those popped up in her dreams but the majority of nights they made some kind of appearance. Looking over to her side, she remembered the night. After they kissed, John and she had decided to finish the movie. But judging from the fact that Grace had just woken up on John's chest on the couch in her apartment pretty late the next day, she guessed he'd fallen asleep during the movie just as she had.

Just as she was about to lie back down onto John's shoulder, he woke up. "'Morning." He said groggily wiping his eyes.

"'Morning." Grace said in reply.

"How long have you been up?" He asked still in a half-asleep state.

"Only a few minutes, I didn't want to wake you." She motioned to his arm which was resting on the back of her neck.

"Oh, gotcha." If he wasn't only a few moments into consciousness, John probably would've moved, but he was so comfortable that he had no intention of getting up. "Sorry, I fell asleep." John continued now awake. He sat a little more upright, but Grace's head stayed comfortably on his chest, and his arm was still around her shoulders.

"Does it look like I really argued?" Grace looked back smiling. "Do all Gotham cops have this comfortable of chests?"

"Yeah, it is part of the application process." John rested his cheek down on Grace's head.

Grace laughed and reached for the remote to turn the TV on. The news was on showing the clip of Batman from last night. The reporter voiced-over to say this: "The caped-vigilante Batman reappeared last night to Gotham's surprise. The Batman has been out of the public eye for eight years after committing a string of vicious murders including the murder of the late District Attorney Harvey Dent who was known for his dedication to upholding the law and improving Gotham. If caught, Batman will stand trial for these murders. Anyone with information on this case should not hesitate to inform the authorities." The news story changed to something about the big football game today, but Grace didn't move. It was as if she were frozen in her seat. John grabbed the remote from the table and quickly turned the television off.

"Are you alright?" John asked.

"Yeah, it's just," she stopped at a loss for words. "It's nothing."

John loosened his grip so he had enough slack on his arms to look her in the eyes. "No, it's not nothing. I can tell something bothered you. You can tell me."

Grace looked down thinking of how to reply. "It's just, I hate hearing them talk about him like that, like he's some kind of criminal. He's given Gotham so much, and he's going to keep doing it. The people of Gotham will never know how much Batman really gave to this city. He saw Rachel as his only out into a normal life, but the Joker ruined all of that." Grace stopped looking down then up with realization.

"What?" John said with concern. He'd never seen Grace like this. He'd known her in two ways: the amazing girl he'd somehow snagged to go on a date with him and the little sister of one of the most powerful men in Gotham (in more ways than most would know).

"It's almost funny, not funny ha-ha, but you know. The Joker, as far as we all know, had no idea Bruce was Batman. Yet, somehow he still managed to ruin Batman's life- his real one for that matter."

"Wow, I had no idea." John had always known that Bruce was Batman and that Batman didn't commit those crimes. He just couldn't have in John's opinion, but John had also not though twice about what it must've been like to be accused of all of these crimes.

"Yeah, and it's not like I blame anyone for it especially you- you saw right through all of the lies." Grace stopped. She had said too much. She loved her brother more than anything in the world, but what about Harvey? Harvey was her hero- a different kind than Bruce. Someone may compare Grace's relationship with Harvey to the city of Gotham's relationship with Gotham- dreamlike and idealistic.

"Are you sure you're okay? I feel like there's still something that you're holding back." John was sweet and kind. Grace hadn't felt this way in a long time, but this was exactly what she didn't want. It was too fast. One day, things would come crashing down and the rubble would leave Grace nothing but regrets like it always happened.

Grace plastered a smile on her face. "No, it's really fine. It's honestly just over-protective sibling stuff." She licked her lips slightly contemplating an out that would save her from herself and still make John know she was interested. "This has been really great- you and I." She rubbed John's hand, and he knew something was wrong. His dark, kind eyes broke her. "I just, I don't like talking about this stuff. One day, hopefully, I'll be able to, just not now. Grace's head dropped.

John knew that smile she had plastered on at first; it was fake, and her brother had the same one jut as John had. She may not have been old enough to be weathering the effects of her parents' deaths like John , but they were more similar than not. They both had pain. John chose to not bring it up, and Grace- whose role in the events eight years ago are already too public to be ignored only to be even more intense and intimate as you look closer- is probably just sick and tired of trying to sort through her own feelings, nonetheless share them.

John hooked his index finger under Grace's chin and tilted it up so she would be looking him straight in the face. "It's okay." He kissed her forehead softly. "I understand." He pressed his forehead to hers. "Maybe later we can talk about this later." Grace smiled as John moved his head back.

His phone rang and he answered it swiftly. There was a disturbance in the sewers. Some yelling and now there was a mysterious woman, a Selina Kyle, walking around the premises of the Wayne manor as reported by Lucius Fox to Gotham City Police. John had done research on her and knew that he had to have been in deep with all the wrong people which may have left her desperate.

John looked up about to explain but Grace stopped him. "Go. I understand the need to protect Gotham. I've witnessed it most of my life."

So John went, and as Grace settled in her phone rang showing she'd received a message. It was a number unrecognized by the contacts in her cellphone but she recognized it at first glance, It was the number of the industrial-strength cell phone Bruce kept in his Bat suit to make contact in emergencies. Grace listened to the message and couldn't help but gasp. It was yelling (probably more accurately described as moaning) and it sounded like a fight. The service was really bad so not too much was clear but Grace recognized Bruce's voice and an almost mechanical voice. Something was wrong, and Grace had a bad feeling the man who'd helped solve all of her and Gotham's problems- Batman- wouldn't be able to help.


	7. Chapter 7

**Yay! Quick chapter here setting the stage for later chapters but I hope you still enjoy! **

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Grace Wayne had never walked this fast in her life. The images were a blur, and all of Wayne enterprises' offices were a mess. Some man in a mask had come into a board meeting and took Lucius, Miranda Tate, and another board member to the new energy source.

Coming up to the office of Lucius- Mr. Fox to Grace when she spoke to him directly-, Grace took a sharp turn into the office shutting the door behind her. "Mr. Fox." She said at a loss for words.

"Miss Wayne, I'm assuming you've heard something to lead you to my office." He always had a way of staying calm in the direst of situations, so his calm demeanor and greeting gave Grace no comfort. "So why don't you start; what brings you to my office?"

"Okay," Grace took a seat and started her explanation. "I was at home, and I missed a call from Bruce on his special phone." Grace looked to Lucius and he understood immediately what she meant. Bruce would only have that phone if he was in his bat suit. "He left a message though."

"What did he say?"

"That's the thing. He must've butt dialed me because he wasn't calling to chat. The words were all muffled. I can play you the message in a minute. I came here to talk to you because I think Bruce is in trouble."

Lucius looked up at Grace with knowing eyes. He wanted to talk to Bruce after the incident at the board meeting, but Bruce who always answered Lucius's calls, didn't answer his phone. Then, when the Lucius went to Wayne Manor, the house was vacant except for Selina Kyle- a woman Bruce had already had Lucius look into after she broke into his safe- walking around the premises with a guilty look on her face. Something had to be wrong the pieces didn't fit together any other way.

"Then, I got here and found out some kind of mad man took you and Miranda Tate to the fusion reactor," Grace continued looking to Lucius for answers.

"How do you know about what happened at the board meeting?" Miranda had called the meeting in a last-minute attempt to keep the board up to date he didn't know who would've told Grace who was no longer a member on the board after giving Bruce control of her shares in the company.

"I may not be on the board, but I still have my connections. Miranda Tate told me the gist of it when she couldn't get a hold of Bruce. She told me there was an incident in the board meeting with the energy source but that was all. I came to you to find out the whole story."

"Bane, the same man who caused the stand-off at the stock exchange, took the fusion reactor and turned it into a bomb." Lucius replied simply.

Grace was stunned. "I thought that the only man who could turn the reactor into a bomb was dead in a plane crash."

"Bane was allegedly on that plane too. I figure that Bane must've staged the crash."

The two just sat there for a moment soaking in the extent of what was aid. Bane, a mercenary with no known motive, now had a nuclear bomb with the power to destroy the city.

"Your brother would want me to get you out of the city now." He looked at Grace unsure of his next move. "But I know you won't leave even if I tried."

Grace stared back up with thanks. Bruce would want Grace to leave just at the suspicion of conflict and/or danger, but Grace couldn't leave the city to burn especially not when her brother could still be in the sewers of the city for all she knew. "Thank you, Mr. Fox. I'll let you know if I find any information on Bruce, and I hope you'll do the same for me."

"Of course, Miss Wayne." Lucius shook her hand and walked her to the door of his office. "But please be careful. I know how much you Waynes like to be the hero."

Grace smiled a distracted, small smile and walked out the office into the building and out to her car. Something big was about to happen.

* * *

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Foley, Detective John Blake, and Commissioner Gordon were in Gordon's hospital room trying to discuss how to handle the Bane situation. John already knew that Bane took Batman- he got that much from Selina Kyle. He knew that without Batman they needed to stop Bane before he had the chance to truly start. Also, he wanted to bring Bruce back, and getting Bane in a position of desperation may be the only way he'd talk.

The three men devised a plan to send a large number of cops into the sewers in an effort to force them out. It would be covered up as a drill practice and would take place the same time as the football game the next day.

"Well then, is that all?' Foley said. "I'll call the mayor for you Gordon and tell him about the drill as to not create panic and chaos."

Gordon looked to John who nodded in agreement, and Foley along with John exited. They needed all the rest and planning that they could get.

* * *

Before Grace returned to her apartment, she made a stop at Wayne manor. The building was eerily empty without her brother or Alfred, so she hurried to the study in order to go to go to the bat cave. She played the piano and stepped into the elevator being sure to be careful to check the extremely slight possibility that anyone was watching. He stepped into the elevator and rode down. This place had always creeped Grace out, but without Bruce it went from creepy to downright scary.

The bat suit was gone but he always kept extra supplies hidden in case of emergency. Grace walked on the bridge to where Bruce was sitting just yesterday when she came over. She couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for allowing Bruce to even consider being Batman at all, but she fought this off knowing other thing were more important. The plans was to clean the place of anything someone could take out of here and use as a weapon- if Bruce was in fact taken as Batman, she couldn't risk anyone coming here and finding his stash. The second part of the plan was to borrow Bruce's laptop- a necessary tool if Grace was even going to dream of finding her brother. The computer was not only faster than hers but also had all the programs she'd need to use the GPS on her brother's phone to find it and possibly Bruce.

She left once she had what she needed and headed home. Once home, Grace settled in ready for a night filled with tracking her brother. The supplies she took- mostly the things Bruce kept in his belt when he was Batman- were locked in the safe that Bruce had insisted on buying for Grace but had only really been used to store emergency cash.

Searching for her brother's phone gave Grace little comfort. The phone was practically indestructable so it was still in tact but the phone wasn't showing up on the GPS. After looking into why that may have been, she came to two possible solutions: Bruce was underground in area with no service or in the middle of nowhere with no service. So Grace just had to wait and hope for the best.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey Everyone! I'm so so so so so so(x500) sorry I haven't updated in about two forevers! My major excuses are that I was busy and I was just kinda stuck on this chapter, but I really am sorry and thank you so much to those who have come back to read the story after along break. **

**Anywho, chapter 8 is here! I hope you guys like it and continue to review and such!**

**Thanks again everyone! **

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It was a day later. At this point, Bruce had to have been missing for forty-eight hours at least. If Grace went to the police, it would be ruled a missing person's case, but Grace couldn't do that. Going to the police would involve much more than just filing a missing person's case. Once involved, the police would more likely than not put things together. If the investigation of the Wayne manor didn't lead them to finding anything batman-related, it would really take an idiot to not put it together that around the time Bruce went missing Batman stopped making his sudden reappearance. Once the truth was out, all hell would break loose. Bruce would never tell the truth about Harvey, so who knows what would happen to him. No, Grace wouldn't let that happen. Her brother wouldn't go to prison; he was coming home, and that was that.

She was sitting at home when her phone rang. It was Lucius. Thinking it was about, Bruce she hurried to answer the phone. "Mr. Fox, is there any word on Bruce?"

"Well, hello to you too Miss Wayne. No, there's no word on Bruce. Are you watching TV right now?"

"No, what's going on?"

"I have to go Miss Wayne. Watch the news and hide- turn your lights off and double-lock your doors."

"Mr. Fox, but what-" she was cut off by Lucius hanging up. "Damn it, why do the people in this city have to make things so damn complicated?" She cursed to herself.

Grace turned the TV and couldn't believe her eyes. She'd missed all of the live action, but every second of coverage was recapping what happened. Bane, the ex-mercenary who had already started his reign as Gotham's new villain (more like pain in the ass in Grace's mind), took the bomb he'd created from the fusion reactor to the football game today, and laid out his plan to the city. The bomb was his mean of keeping control essentially; if anyone left or entered the city, the bomb would go off. He was going to give the city to the people, but with the mayor presumably killed by the explosion of his box seats at the football game all the cops trapped underground who else would?

Grace had to sit down at the mention of the cops underground. Was John there too? The thought of him locked up in there made Grace sick to her stomach. And if Bane wanted all of the cops in the city out of the picture what did he have in store for Commissioner Gordon who was still in the hospital vulnerable to an attack? Pushing reason and Mr. Fox' requests out of her mind, she left the apartment to go to the hospital. Commissioner Gordon had always been good to Grace, and now she had to return the favor.

Leaving the house, she worked to cover her face with a scarf and hat. After all, Grace may be no Batman, but she was trying to do something helpful and refused to become the damsel in distress this time. She drove to the hospital trying to keep her cool but was disturbed by the condition of her city. The streets were chaos; some people were trying to leave- hopeless effort with the bomb threat, and those who stayed had no idea what to do with themselves. There was broken glass all over the streets and fires. This scene gave the disaster the Joker created that fateful night eight years ago a run for its money.

Once at the hospital, Grace ran through the halls to Gordon's room. The white board where Grace knew nurses kept information on the patient showed no signs of any appointments that day which meant only one thing. Gordon had left this room unscheduled. Discouraged and thinking the worse, Grace left. _Who am I kidding? _She thought. _What good could I do anyways? If Gotham's looking for help, they're stuck with the wrong Wayne. _Driving home, Grace could see the situation of the city had deteriorated. Hopeless, people were hiding in their house, but a select few were roaming the streets aimlessly or with a purpose Grace didn't care to know.

Meanwhile, John had it all figured out- well, most of it anyway. When he went to the concrete company he had found ties to Bane with, he quickly deduced that they were mixing explosives into the concrete, but he was too late. The explosions occurred and now the only cops in the city were Gordon and him. Knowing that Bane's next target would be Gordon, he went to the hospital, and Gordon who'd figured this much also, was already ready to go.

In this time, John had also decided the importance of finding Grace. After interrogating the very tight-lipped Selina Kyle all he knew was that Bruce was taken by Bane. Whether or not he was alive was a mystery to both of them, but John figured Batman's identity would be revealed and he didn't want to risk anything happening to Grace out of vengeance or punishment of Bruce. John took Gordon to his apartment and went over Grace's. "Stay here, Commissioner. I have to go get a friend of mine. I'll be back soon."

"Okay, no problem." Gordon replied as John left.

When he got to Grace's apartment, he knocked at the door softly to not attract attention.

Grace had just gotten back into her apartment when there was a knock at the door. She breathed in deeply and walked towards the door uncertain of who'd be on the other side. Looking through the peep-hole, she exhaled heavily as if he were lifting a weight. On the other side was John. She opened the door quickly and pulled him inside.

John was shocked by the sudden pull, but quickly realized it was Grace.

Grace was so happy in that one moment that she'd almost forgotten everything awful that had happened. Knowing John was okay, gave Grace one less thing to worry about. She placed her hand on his cheek and looked up to him. "Oh my God, you're okay. I heard about the concrete exploding everywhere and thought the cops were all still in there."

"The other cops are. I didn't go down with them." John said looking back.

"Oh my God." Grace wrapped her arms around John's neck. "I'm so happy you're okay." She parted from John looking at him skeptically. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to get you. I don't think you should stay here. It's not safe."

"Why not?" Grace said looking at him.

John looked back to Grace deciding to tell her the truth. "Grace, I think Bane knows Bruce is Batman."

One look and Grace immediately knew. Bane had her brother, and with Batman and the entire city's cops underground, Bane could do whatever he wanted


End file.
